Gruffalo author Donaldson To Move Back South

January 12, 2014 By achuka Leave a Comment

Julia Donaldson is to move back to England, having spent the past 25 years in Scotland:

After 25 years in Scotland, in which she has created some of the world’s best-loved books and endeared herself to stressed-out parents everywhere, Julia Donaldson, the author of The Gruffalo, is returning south, the Sunday Herald can reveal.
Donaldson, creator of Room On The Broom, Stick Man, Princess Mirror-Belle and scores of other bedtime favourites, is quitting her home in Bearsden, north of Glasgow, to spend more time with her family in England.
The departure has been confirmed by her publisher, Macmillan Children’s Books.

via Gruffalo author Donaldson quits Scotland for England | Herald Scotland.

Scotland’s Favourite Book

October 31, 2013 By achuka Leave a Comment

The Search is on for the Favourite Scottish Book

As part of Book Week Scotland 2013 (25 Nov to 1 Dec), Scottish Book Trust is launching a search for the favourite Scottish Book of the last 50 years.
Members of the public can visit www.bookweekscotland.com to choose from a shortlist of 50 titles compiled by author and literary critic Stuart Kelly in collaboration with Scottish Book Trust. These books have been carefully selected in an attempt to reflect the depth and breadth of the journey Scottish writing has taken over the last half century.

Commenting on the compilation process, Stuart Kelly said, “Choosing only fifty books from the last fifty years – half a century which has seen major innovations and developments in the Scottish novel – was never going to be uncontroversial. I am grateful to colleagues at Scottish Book Trust for their assistance in compiling this list, which, I think, combines the well known with the idiosyncratic, the famous and the unjustly forgotten and which will hopefully help readers discover new possible favourites and revisit existing ones.”

Titles to choose from include modern favourites such as Iain Banks’ The Bridge, Ali Smith’s Hotel World and Christopher Brookmyre’s One Fine Day in the Middle of the Night. Also up for nomination is Kate Atkinson’s recent novel Life after Life, which was shortlisted for the Bailey’s Women’s Prize for Fiction earlier this year. Crime fiction, one of Scotland’s best loved genres, is well represented, with Denise Mina’s Garnet Hill and The Cutting Room by Louise Welsh both making the shortlist, as well as Ian Rankin’s groundbreaking Black and Blue.

Marc Lambert, Chief Executive of Scottish Book Trust, said:

“Book Week Scotland is a fantastic opportunity for a national conversation about books. What we are keen to find out, from the public discussion and voting this list stimulates, is whether the authors who are old favourites – Alasdair Gray, Muriel Spark – will stay the course, or whether other more recent writers have come to resonate more strongly with Scottish readers.”

How About: These Three From Frances LIncoln

September 16, 2013 By achuka Leave a Comment

Breaking The Spell: Stories of Magic and Mystery from Scotland

by Lari Don ill. Cate James

A wide-ranging collection, perfect for reading aloud.

Waterstones Amazon

Two Nests

by Laurence Anholt ill Jim Coplestone

I found this really delightful. It’s a rhyming picture book that very gently addresses the topic of parental separation. Anholt’s rhythmic verse is pitch-perfect.

Waterstones Amazon

And thirdly

A B C London

by James Dunn & Kate Slater

a city-themed alphabet

Neil Gaiman on why Scotland is his second home

June 17, 2013 By achuka Leave a Comment

A good, long feature interview with Neil Gaiman from The Scotsman:

A shy child with his nose permanently stuck in a book, Neil Gaiman grew up to become a publishing phenomenon writing scripts, graphic novels and fiction. He talks about Dr Who, his personal new novel and living on Skye
Neil Gaiman is a man of many faces. Some know him as the author of gloriously mapcap children’s books, others as the writer who got the world to take graphic novels seriously. Still more recognise him as the novelist behind the blockbuster movies Stardust and Coraline. He’s a bestselling author, screenwriter and blogger and he has 1.8 million Twitter followers. And for some people on the Isle of Skye he is that vaguely famous bloke who lives down the road.

via Neil Gaiman on why Scotland is his second home – Features – Scotsman.com.

The future of children’s books – a Highland and Islands event

May 29, 2013 By achuka Leave a Comment

WRITERS in the Highlands and Islands have a unique opportunity to gain vital insights and information on the latest trends in children’s publishing and what publishers are currently looking for, at two events in Inverness hosted by two of the industry’s leading figures.
Kate Wilson, managing director of highly innovative and original children’s publisher Nosy Crow, and Kathryn Ross of Scotland’s leading literary agency for children’s authors Fraser Ross Associates, will lead the sessions on Wednesday 5th June at the Mercure Hotel, Inverness.

via The future of children’s book – a unique opportunity for Highland and Islands authors – Lifestyle & Leisure – Stornoway Gazette.

Etherington Brothers A Huge Draw for Lanarkshire Pupils

May 16, 2013 By achuka Leave a Comment

Etherington Brothers a Huge Draw for Lanarkshire Pupils

Primary school children in North and South Lanarkshire received a masterclass in comic book creation when dynamic writer-artist duo the Etherington Brothers visited Scotland this month.

As part of the second Scottish Friendly Children’s Book Tour of 2013, run by Scottish Book Trust, over 1,500 lucky North and South Lanarkshire primary school pupils were invited into Robin and Lorenzo Etherington’s zany world of comic art and storytelling.

The brothers will have visited ten schools during the tour, including five schools in North Lanarkshire from 13 to 15 May, and a further five schools in South Lanarkshire from 15 to 17 May.

The energetic and engaging Etherington Brothers are a British comic book duo who are changing how pupils and teachers up and down the country are thinking about comic books. With Robin writing and Lorenzo illustrating they show pupils how to devise original characters, worlds and stories for a 21st century audience. Aside from original material, the talented brothers have also produced comic work for Transformers, Star Wars, Wallace and Gromit, and Terminator. They’ve also worked on movies such as Dreamworks’ Monster vs. Aliens and Madagascar.

Commenting on their upcoming tour, Robin Etherington said:

“It is a genuine honour to be invited to take part in the Scottish Friendly Children’s Book Tour. For over a decade Scottish Book Trust and Scottish Friendly have been exciting readers and writers and artists by bringing a host of incredible authors to schools and libraries across Scotland and England, and we feel truly privileged to join their ranks.”

Chris Newton, Children’s Events Manager at Scottish Book Trust added:

“Scottish Book Trust is delighted to have the Etherington Brothers on the Scottish Friendly Children’s Book Tour. Their events are great fun and I can guarantee that children and adults alike will be spellbound. We hope that the brothers will inspire pupils in North and South Lanarkshire to have a go at writing and drawing their own comics, and most importantly have a long lasting impact on the children’s enthusiasm for reading.”